


Misdirection and Distraction

by RiethTheLost



Category: Darkest Dungeon (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 13:57:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15172166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiethTheLost/pseuds/RiethTheLost
Summary: A new threat from the farmstead appears, on an already difficult mission. Fortunately, the Antiquarian is a master of redirecting danger.





	Misdirection and Distraction

The party slowly moved through the ruins, Reynauld at the front, bearing the torch. They had a hard-fought mission, but it wasn't over yet. This had been a simple cleanse mission, easy enough and the Heir had sent an Antiquarian with them to gather what she could. What the Heir had not predicted was that a Necromancer Lord had recently moved into the area, leaving the party trapped in the ruins with no way out but past the monster. The party, barely even considered veterans at this point, were no match for the brutality and strength of the Necromancer Lord, and they had nearly all died escaping his clutches. They continued on, moving through the dark corridors, the torch slowly fading, despite Reynauld and Junia's attempts to keep it lit. Unfortunately, when it rains, it pours.

The party rounded a corner, and saw a massive shape shuffling down the corridor, blue shards falling to the ground as it moved. It turned, saw them, and screeched. There was no hope for victory here, not with the party so injured. They ran, abandoning the torch in their flight. Soon it was clear the beast would outrun them, and there was nothing to do but stand and fight. As they prepared, the Antiquarian spoke up from the back ranks.

"Reynauld, hold a moment, I have an idea."

The crusader grimaced under his helm, drawing his sword and standing in a defensive position. "And what of it? It'd have to be a genius plan to get us out of this mess."

Dismas shook his head, reloading. "Let her talk, it's not like the situation can get worse at this point, we're already dead."

The Antiquarian gestured at a side passage that led nowhere, but was dark as pitch. "Hide in there. Let me get its attention."

The party looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "You... you're sure about this? That thing has killed many more skilled in combat than you."

She nodded, and pushed. "Go, I'll be fine. And whatever you do, don't follow me."

Uneasily looking at eachother, they nodded. Junia handed the Antiquarian a holy water, then bowed. "Good luck." With that, they hid in the side passage, leaving the nomad alone.

The Thing From The Stars rounded the corner, its gait already frenzied as its body lost mass even now. The antiquarian stood her ground, then turned at the last moment, and shoved a door open, sprinting inside. 

She had to wonder, just for a moment, what the expression on the Necromancer's face was when the Thing burst through the now open doorway. She didn't have to wonder long, as the Necromancer immediately lashed out, as she dived under his attack, it struck the Thing's side, and a skeleton burst from the ground to attack. The Thing screamed, swinging its arm around, the massive crystal at its end slashing the undead creature clean in half. It turned before anyone in the room could react, stabbing the same limb deep into the Necromancer's chest. For all his skill at raising the dead, a physical confrontation like this was not the Necromancer's forte. He tried his best to combat The Thing, summoning skeletons as rapidly as he could, but for each he summoned, the Thing's vicious attacks brought them down just as quickly. Calling upon great power, the Necromancer summoned a Bone General, which for a moment seemed to put the Thing on the back foot, causing it to stumble backwards under the force of the giant mace the creature wielded. This brief lapse allowed the Necromancer to fill the room with even more undead, and The Thing seemed to start to retreat. As the skeletons neared, a Crystal that had fallen from The Thing began to shudder and glow. There was barely time to react before it detonated, Skeletons shattering with the force. The bone general took a step backwards, but weathered the explosion otherwise unharmed. Just before the general could attack again, The Thing lunged like a cornered animal, stabbing its crystal limb into the gap between the general's breastplate and its helm. The Thing ripped its arm back out, and the general managed one last attack before falling, but one that, for all the weight and power behind the blow, simply bounced off of The Thing's hide, as if it had become steel in the last few seconds. The Thing's attack grew even more fevered, pushing the Necromancer's servants back, until the Necromancer was left alone again. The Thing charged, raising its arm, and stabbed low, the blow spearing the Necromancer through his stomach. With a roar, The Thing ripped its arm upwards, slashing through the Necromancer's torso, then head, as the Thing's assault slowed to a stop, and it stood over the corpse of the Necromancer Lord. With one last keening cry, The Thing from the stars dropped to its knees, then the ground, as the unknowable force animating its body could no longer sustain it. Both Necromancer and Monster lay in a heap on the ground, and the Antiquarian moved out of her hiding place, walking slowly towards the corpses with her kukri drawn. After ensuring both were truly dead, she returned to the hallway and called the party over, and to the door.

Reynauld stared at the carnage, sheathing his weapon and glancing around. "It is done then."

Dismas, for his part, just began to laugh. "By the light, she actually did it. It's a god-damned miracle."

Moving over to the Necromancer, Junia knelt, and pulled his collar, easily separating it from the corpse. "We should bring this back, as proof." She turned to the Antiquarian, and then the others. "As for the rest, I believe we should leave it to her to find what she can. Her eyes are, after all, better than any of us."

The Antiquarian nodded, and began to search the bodies.


End file.
